Bills Moving Slowly

Committee hearings have begun in the California Legislature, and are moving slowly so far, but will pick up speed in the very near future. The approaching May deadlines for progress will speed bills along. How fast will they speed along? Recalling the 1987 sci-fi spoof “Spaceballs,” we might say “ludicrous speed.” There are now 2,402 bills, constitutional amendments, resolutions, et cetera in play. Well over a third of these appeared after the “deadline” of February 22 nd , to which exceptions are routinely granted. Relevant May deadlines are as follows: May 3 Last day for policy committees to hear and report to Fiscal Committees fiscal bills introduced in their house; May 10 Last day for policy committees to meet prior to June 3; May 24 Last day for fiscal committees to hear and report to the Floor bills introduced in their house; last day for fiscal committees to meet prior to June 3; and May 31 Last day for bills to be passed out of the house of origin. The California Constitution requires that no bill be acted upon within 30 days of its introduction. This means that all bills introduced after the February 22 deadline cannot be heard until at least March 25, which fell during spring recess that runs from March 22 through April 1. Policy committees don’t meet on Thursdays or Fridays (or Saturdays or Sundays). Some of the 2/3 of the bills that were introduced by the deadline could have been heard before spring recess, but weren’t. This boils down to about 2,000 bills and 15 days, or 133 bills per day. Of these, we are now tracking 89 that seem as though they are, or likely could, relate to onsite generation in some form. There are many more that we watch without publishing them in COG as a bit more far-flung, but with a particular amendment could be more interesting. The observant reader will notice that most of the amendments in this Update were “gut & amends” (term of art). This is quite unusual for this early in the year, as the “gut & amend” technique is most often encountered after a bill with some innocuous purpose passes all committees and is up for its final floor vote, and then acquires a whole new purpose. This is obviously a way to slip a bill through that would not stand up to much public scrutiny. This early in the session however, gut & amend is not about avoiding public scrutiny. What it says is that the member really had no idea what his or her bill was about. With committee meetings approaching fast, it’s time to figure it out, so one should pay attention to this new language. Bills that remain as spot bills at this point will probably languish. Historically over 2/3 of the bills introduced will make it to the floor of each house for a vote. Then the process will repeat itself in the opposite house, but with two interruptions even larger than spring recess – the annual passage of the budget bill, and the month-long summer recess. As surely as the sun rises in the east, a mainstream media outlet will observe that bills are “hurriedly voted on” with “little or no discussion,” and as surely as the sun sets in the west, a representative of the Legislature will say yes, but all of these measures received a “thorough analysis” in policy committee. This is our process.

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Bills Moving Slowly

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